Rock tumbler

ABSTRACT

A rock tumbler for rotating a tumbling barrel containing rocks and a grinding and polishing medium. The rock tumbler includes a chassis having a pair of spaced walls that define a tumbling compartment and a pair of spaced shafts extending across the compartment that are rotatably mounted in bearings. The bearings are fitted in slots in the walls in such a manner that the bearings may be removed from the walls by raising them in slots. A cover fitted on the chassis has an opening that receives a tumbling barrel when it is supported on the shafts and flanges bounding the opening that extend to locations above the bearings to restrain upward movement of the bearings. One of the shafts is drivingly connected to a motor that can rotate this shaft and thus rotate the tumbling barrel. A tab projecting upwardly of one of the walls between the shafts extends through a slot in the cover and is received in annular groove on a guide nut secured to the tumbling barrel to restrain the tumbling barrel against movement longitudinally of the shafts.

United States Patent 91 Christensen 1 ROCK TUMBLER [76] Inventor: Gary T. Christensen, Seattle, Wash.

[22] Filed: Feb. 18, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 227,412

' .1959 Great Britain 51/164 Primary Examiner-Harold D. Whitehead Assistant Examiner-Nicholas P. Godili Att0rneyD. Paul Weaver et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A rock tumbler for rotating a tumbling barrel containing rocks and a grinding and polishing medium. The rock tumbler includes a chassis having a pair of spaced walls that define a tumbling compartment and a pair of spaced shafts extending across the compartment that are rotatably mounted in bearings. The bearings are fitted in slots in the walls in such a manner that the bearings may be removed from the walls by raising them in slots. A cover fitted on the chassis has an opening that receives a tumbling barrel when it is supported on the shafts and flanges bounding the opening that extend to locations above the bearings to restrain upward movement of the bearings. One of the shafts is drivingly connected to a motor that can rotate this shaft and thus rotate the tumbling barrel. A tab projecting upwardly of one of the walls between the shafts extends through a slot in the cover and is received in annular groove on a guide nut secured to the tumbling barrel to restrain the tumbling barrel against movement longitudinally of the shafts.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDUU 1 a ma SHEEI 1 BF 2 FAI ENTED 081 161973 SHEEI 2 BF 2 FIG. 3

ROCK TUMBLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is in the field of rock tumblers that rotate tumbling barrels that contain rocks to be polished and a grinding and polishing medium. Such tumblers are generally known to the prior art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,921.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of this invention is concerned with a construction'of a rock tumbler that enables it to be readily disassembled while providing a sturdy rock tumbler in its assembled operative condition. The rock tumbler is formed of a chassis having a pair of spaced walls that define a tumbling barrel compartment. Shafts extending across the compartment between the walls support the tumbling barrel for rotation. Bearings at the ends of the shaft are mounted to the walls in such a manner that the bearings may be removed from the walls by raising them in the walls to thus disassemble the shafts. A cover fitted on the chassis has an opening that receives the tumbling barrel. Flanges, bounding the cover, extend downwardly to locations above the bearings to restrain upward movement of the bearings in the wall. A motor is drivingly connected to one of the shafts to thereby rotate this shaft and the tumbling barrel supported on the shaft. This construction enables the shafts to be retained in operative position when the cover is fitted to the chassis and permits ready disassembly of the shafts when the cover is removed from the chassis.

A second aspect of the invention is concerned with the rock tumbler construction that enables the tumbling barrel to be restrained against longitudinal motion along the shafts when the cover is fitted to the chassis and the rock tumbler is in operative condition. This is accomplished by providing an upwardly extending tab on the chassis that projects through a slot in the cover when the cover is fitted to the chassis. The tab extends into a groove in a guide member that is secured to the tumbling barrel to thus restrain the tumbling barrel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the rock tumbler;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the rock tumbler; and

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The rock tumbler is formed of a chassis 10 having a base 12. Walls in the form of flanges l6 and 18 are upstanding from the ends of the base 12. A center wall in the form of a flange 20, struck out from the base 12, extends upwardly from the base parallel to and between the end flanges 16 and 18. The center flange 20 is spaced closer to the end flange 16 than to the end flange 18. The space between the flanges l6 and 20 defines a motor compartment 21 and the space between the flanges l8 and 20 defines a tumbling barrel compartment 23.

The flanges 18 and 20 have aligned front keyhole slots 22 which are relatively narrow at their bases and relatively wide at their top. Bearings 24 and 25 are respectively removably mounted in the bases of the slots 22 of the flanges l8 and 20 by means of circumferential grooves 26 that are received in the slot bases. A shaft 28 is received at its ends in the cup-shaped openings in the bearings and extends across the tumbling barrel compartment 23. The bearings 24 and 25, together with the shaft 28, may be removed from the flanges 18 and 20 by raising the bearings to the wide tops of the slots and removing them endwise through the slots, the tops of the slots defining openings that have greater diameters than the bearing diameters.

The flanges 18 and 20, respectively, have aligned back keyhole slots 30 and 31 that are constructed identically to the front slots 22, are spaced rearwardly of the front slots 22, and are at the same elevation as the front slots 22. A bearing 32, constructed identically to thebearings 24 and 25, is removably mounted in the slot 31 and receives an end of a shaft 34 that straddles the tumbler barrel compartment 23. The shaft 34 extends through a bearing 36 that is fitted in the base of the slot 30 by means of a circumferential groove 38 (FIG. 3) and into the motor compartment 21. A drive member in the form of a pulley 39 is affixed to the end of the shaft 34 that is within the motor compartment 21 by a screw 40. A collar 42 is fitted into the shaft 34 within the compartment 23 to bear against the end of the bearing 36 that is remote from the pulley 39. The shaft 34 is thus restrained against longitudinal movement by the pulley 39 and the collar 42 bearing against the ends of the bearing 36.

A motor 44, mounted to the flange 16, has a shaft 46 that extends into the compartment 21. A pulley 48 is affixed to the shaft 46. A belt 50 is wrapped about the pulleys 39 and 48 and extends therebetween.

A cover 52 is fitted onto the chassis 10. The cover includes a top plate 54 and side plates 56 and 58 that coact with the base 12 to enclose the compartment 21 and the motor 44 contained therein. Screws 60 extending through the cover and respectively threaded into the flanges 16 and 18 serve to hold the cover in place. When the cover is in place, a tab 62 on the flange 20 between the shafts 28 and 34 extends through a slot 64 in the cover plate 54 and projects upwardly of the top plate.

The cover 52 has an opening 65 in its top that exposes the tumbler barrel compartment 23. The opening 65 is bounded by flanges 66 and 68, the flange 66 lying above the bearings 25 and 36 and the flange 68 lying above the bearings 24 and 32. The cover flanges 66 and 68, when the cover is in place, thus restrain the bearings 24, 25, 32 and 36, together with the shafts 28 and 34, against upward movement to thus prevent the shafts from rising to such an extent in the slots 22, 30 and 31 as to enable them to become disassembled from the flanges 18 and 20.

Number 70 designates a tumbling barrel which may be constructed as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,902. The barrel 76 includes a cover 72 having a guide nut 74 projecting outwardly thereof. An annular groove 76 extends about the periphery of the nut 74.

The tumbling barrel 70 is intended to grind and polish rough rocks. With the cover 72 removed, the rocks and a grinding and polishing medium, such as silicon carbide, are inserted into the barrel. The cover 72 is then placed on the barrel and the barrel is seated on the shafts 28 and 34 within the opening 65 between the flanges 66 and 68 with the tab 62 inserted into the groove 76. The motor 44 is then turned on to rotate the shaft 34 to thus rotate the barrel. During its rotation, the barrel 70 is supported on the rotating shaft 34 and on the shaft 28, the latter shaft also being rotated due to the rotation of the barrel. The insertion of the tab 62 into the groove 76 guides the barrel during its rotation so that it stays in place longitudinally on the shafts 28 and 34 between the flanges 66 and 68.

After the barrel 70 has been rotated sufficiently so as to cause the rocks to be ground and polished the desired amount, the motor 44 is shut off and the rocks are removed from the barrel.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the rock tumbler is formed of a chassis and a cover that can be readily assembled and disassembled by the insertion and removal of the two screws 60. The act of assembling the tumbler causes the tab 62 to be in position to guide the barrel 70 and causes the flanges 66 and 68 to be in position to retain the shafts 28 and 34 in position in the flanges 18 and 20 of the chassis 10. The disassembling of the cover from the chassis automatically releases the shafts so that they can be readily removed from the chassis.

I claim:

1. A rock tumbler comprising: a tumbling barrel; a chassis having a pair of spaced walls that define a tumbling barrel compartment; shaft means including at least one shaft extending across said compartment between said walls adapted to support said tumbling barrel; a bearing at each end of said one shaft; mounting means so mounting each bearing to a wall as to retain the bearing in the wall when the bearing is in a lower position in the wall and to enable the bearing to be released from the wall when the bearing is moved upwardly of said lower position; a cover fitted on said chassis the cover having an opening, adapted to accommodate the tumbler barrel, extended over said compartment so as to expose said tumbler barrel; flanges on said cover bounding said opening and extending downwardly of said opening above said bearings to thereby restrain upward movement of the bearings; and drive means for rotating said shaft to thereby rotate the barrel.

2. The rock tumbler of claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises: slots in the walls associated with each bearing, each slot being relatively narrow at its base and wider at its top; a groove in the periphery of each bearing that is received in the base of its associated slot; and the tops of the slots defining openings that are greater in diameter than the diameters of the bearings.

3. The rock tumblers of claim 1 wherein a selected end of said shaft extends through its associated wall and bearing into a motor compartment; and wherein said drive means comprises: a drive member removably mounted to said shaft end in said motor compartment; and a motor drivingly connected to said drive member.

4. The rock tumbler of claim 1 wherein said at least one shaft comprises a pair of spaced shafts; wherein said bearings and mounting means are associated with the ends of both shafts; wherein said flanges extend above the bearings at the ends of both shafts; and wherein said drive means is so constructed as to drive a first of the shafts.

5. The rock tumbler of claim 4 wherein said mounting means comprises: slots in the walls associated with each bearing, each slot being relatively narrow at its base and wider at its top; a groove in the periphery of each bearing that is received in the base of its associated slot; and the tops of the slots defining openings that are greater in diameter than the diameters of the bearings.

6. The rock tumblers of claim 4 wherein an end of said first shaft extends through its associated wall and bearing into a motor compartment; and wherein said drive means comprises: a drive member removably mounted to said shaft end in said motor compartment; and a motor drivingly connected to said drive member.

7. A rock tumbler for rotating a tumbling barrel having a guide member thereon comprising: a chassis having a tumbling barrel compartment; support means in the tumbling barrel compartment for supporting the tumbling barrel for rotation while permitting it to move longitudinally of the support means; a cover fitted on said chassis having an opening, adapted to accommodate the tumbling barrel, extended over said compartment so as to expose said compartment; a slot in said cover; a tab on the chassis projecting upwardly through the slot adapted to be inserted into a groove in the guide member to thereby restrain the barrel against longitudinal movement on the support means; and drive means for causing the support means to rotate the barrel.

8. The rock tumbler of claim 7 wherein said chassis has a heightwise extending wall; wherein said support means comprises at least one shaft rotatably mounted to said wall and extending across said compartment; wherein said tab projects upwardly of said wall; and wherein said drive means comprises means for rotating said shaft.

9. The rock tumbler of claim 7 wherein said chassis has a heightwise extending wall; wherein said support means comprises a pair of spaced shafts rotatably mounted to said wall and extending across said compartment; wherein said tab projects upwardly of said wall between said shafts; and wherein said drive means comprises means for rotating at least one of said shafts. k 

1. A rock tumbler comprising: a tumbling barrel; a chassis having a pair of spaced walls that define a tumbling barrel compartment; shaft means including at least one shaft extending across said compartment between said walls adapted to support said tumbling barrel; a bearing at each end of said one shaft; mounting means so mounting each bearing to a wall as to retain the bearing in the wall when the bearing is in a lower position in the wall and to enable the bearing to be released from the wall when the bearing is moved upwardly of said lower position; a cover fitted on said chassis the cover having an opening, adapted to accommodate the tumbler barrel, extended over said compartment so as to expose said tumbler barrel; flanges on said cover bounding said opening and extending downwardly of said opening above said bearings to thereby restrain upward movement of the bearings; and drive means for rotating said shaft to thereby rotate the barrel.
 2. The rock tumbler of claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises: slots in the walls associated with each bearing, each slot being relatively narrow at its base and wider at its top; a groove in the periphery of each bearing that is received in the base of its associated slot; and the tops of the slots defining openings that are greater in diameter than the diameters of the bearings.
 3. The rock tumbler of claim 1 wherein a selected end of said shaft extends through its associated wall and bearing into a motor compartment; and wherein said drive means comprises: a drive member removably mounted to said shaft end in said motor compartment; and a motor drivingly connected to said drive member.
 4. The rock tumbler of claim 1 wherein said at least one shaft comprises a pair of spaced shafts; wherein said bearings and mounting means are associated with the ends of both shafts; wherein said flanges extend above the bearings at the ends of both shafts; and wherein said drive means is so constructed as to drive a first of the shafts.
 5. The rock tumbler of claim 4 wherein said mounting means comprises: slots in the walls associated with each bearing, each slot being relatively narrow at its base and wider at its top; a groove in the periphery of each bearing that is received in the base of its associated slot; and the tops of the slots defining openings that are greater in diameter than the diameters of the bearings.
 6. The rock tumblers of claim 4 wherein an end of said first shaft extends through its associated wall and bearing into a motor compartment; and wherein said drive means comprises: a drive member removably mounted to said shaft end in said motor compartment; and a motor drivingly connected to said drive member.
 7. A rock tumbler for rotating a tumbling barrel having a guide member tHereon comprising: a chassis having a tumbling barrel compartment; support means in the tumbling barrel compartment for supporting the tumbling barrel for rotation while permitting it to move longitudinally of the support means; a cover fitted on said chassis having an opening, adapted to accommodate the tumbling barrel, extended over said compartment so as to expose said compartment; a slot in said cover; a tab on the chassis projecting upwardly through the slot adapted to be inserted into a groove in the guide member to thereby restrain the barrel against longitudinal movement on the support means; and drive means for causing the support means to rotate the barrel.
 8. The rock tumbler of claim 7 wherein said chassis has a heightwise extending wall; wherein said support means comprises at least one shaft rotatably mounted to said wall and extending across said compartment; wherein said tab projects upwardly of said wall; and wherein said drive means comprises means for rotating said shaft.
 9. The rock tumbler of claim 7 wherein said chassis has a heightwise extending wall; wherein said support means comprises a pair of spaced shafts rotatably mounted to said wall and extending across said compartment; wherein said tab projects upwardly of said wall between said shafts; and wherein said drive means comprises means for rotating at least one of said shafts. 